The Sustainable and Effective Economic Development (SEED) project was a seven-year initiative that started in January, 2006, and ended in April, 2013. The project was funded by CIDA and managed by CARE Canada and CARE Mozambique in partnership with Irish Aid, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). CIDA’s contribution was $7.5 million. Irish Aid contributed Euros 1,218,906 towards funding for the cashew component of the project, and IFAD contributed Euros 353,630 towards funding for the goat component with research undertaken by ILRI staff.
The SEED project was implemented in a difficult and challenging environment. The primary stakeholders were the women and men living in the rural communities of the project area and their needs were many. Most were living at a subsistence level in some of the poorest districts and communities of Mozambique. There were limited economic opportunities as these communities were dispersed, populations sparse and transport access was very difficult to and between many communities. There was also a lack of service providers supplying agricultural inputs or technical support at the community and government levels. These communities were confronted with incidences of HIV/AIDS and the numbers of female headed households were high. [76 pages]